


That's not what I meant (Yes, it is)

by Sunnyqueen



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: All thanks to Grace, Caring Danny "Danno" Williams, Caring Steve McGarret, Cheesy, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Grace Williams ranting, Hurt/Comfort, Loving Danny "Danno" Williams, Loving Steve McGarrett, M/M, Oblivious McDanno, Parent Steve McGarrett, Rants, Resolved Romantic Tension, Romantic Fluff, Scars, She is so done with those two, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunnyqueen/pseuds/Sunnyqueen
Summary: "How have you not realised that’s how Danno feels about you? He’s so in love with you that he would rather have you married and happy and still be your best friend than risk everything just to tell you how he really feels even if it kills him inside every time you go out on a date.” Grace fumed, throwing her arms in the air in a plea for more patience before she ended up killing him.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett & Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 32
Kudos: 351
Collections: McDanno26





	That's not what I meant (Yes, it is)

**Author's Note:**

> I was scrolling to Instagram the other day and I saw this post in a DC account with a Tumblr post from hyperactive-lectiophile. And it was just too damn cute for me to resist the urge of writing a short story with it.

She was truly done with it. With them. For 8 years she had been putting up with it and nothing. Nothing! Looks here, looks there, a caress here, a hug there, lots of “I love you”s thrown without much of a second thought because they knew an “I love you, too” would follow.

So how was it possible that they still weren’t together? How was it that Uncle Steve was going on a date by the end of the week? And why the hell was Danno encouraging him when he was clearly hurting from it? It was like watching Steve saying he was going to propose to Catherine and Danno being supportive even though it had been obvious to her that it was slowly killing him inside.

She should have spoken up back then.

And she was speaking up now.

“Uncle Steve?” She called out. He was in the kitchen making dinner for the four of them, with Danno and Charlie gone on a grocery run.

“Yeah, Gracie?”

“Can you help me with my English assignment?”

“Well, if you are looking for big words I think Danno would be better, but sure, what do you need?” He asked, sitting down next to her.

“I need to write a romantic short story, can you give me your opinion on some of the prompts I thought?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thanks.” She smiled at him before picking up her phone. “Okay, first one. **‘I could spend hours counting your scars’**.”

Steve arched an eyebrow at her, but she only shrugged. “I mean, it’s definitely romantic and sappy and they sound smitten with their partner, if that’s what you are going for.”

“Eh… Not exactly. I don’t want to give anyone cavities.” Steve snorted at that. “What about this one? **‘The point is for us to be idiots together’**.”

“I really like this one. It sounds like fun. Like they really know and understand each other.”

Of course he liked that one, he was the one who said it.

“Hm… Not sure that's what… I want something that…” She frowned, thinking of the right words. “Like absolute devotion and deep love.”

Steve hummed. “You really take after Amanda, don't you?” He mused.

“Don't let Danno hear you say that.” She replied, smirking. “Oh, what about this one? **'I'd follow you to the end of the world, you know this.’** ”

“Yeah, I would say that's perfect. It definitely conveys how much the person is in love with their partner, that they would do anything for them.”

Well, at least he was aware of the true meaning of those words, so how the hell had he missed it when Danno said that? _To him?_

“Uncle Steve.” She said, flipping her phone screen side down, her tone serious.

“Y-yeah?”

“You do realise this is stuff Danno and you said, right? To each other?” She arched an eyebrow, watching how the words sunk in his brain, his eyes growing wide and his ear becoming slightly pink. 

“G-gracie, these were taken out of context, I’m don't know that…”

“Uncle Steve. I’m pretty sure that **‘You have the best heart of anyone I’ve ever met and I couldn’t stand to be without you’** doesn’t need that much of a context.”

But it was clear that Steve wasn’t listening to her anymore.

* * *

_His date had been disastrous. During dinner it had seemed to go really well, she was funny and sharp, her tongue quick to bite back, her blues eyes expressive and, although on the shorter side, she was gorgeous. But when they made it to his place and he shed his shirt, the mood became so frosty that one would think it had started freezing outside._

_“What are those?” She questioned, her voice cold and devoid of any emotion except disgust._

_“What?” He felt like he was completely naked instead of only half, like she could see through him and pick apart anything he ever felt was wrong with himself._

_“All those scars. They are ugly, hideous. A warning would have been nice.” She snapped, her lip curling up in a grimace. “Fuck this, I’m out of here.”_

_The next morning, as soon as Danny saw him in the office he had known something had gone very wrong with his date which made him frown and grind his teeth. He left his coffee on the smart table (lucky him, Chin was out on medical leave) and set a hand over his elbow, forcing Steve to acknowledge him._

_“Babe.” And yet, his voice sounded so gentle, even if his eyes were spitting fire. “Talk to me, what happened? You said it was going amazing.”_

_He shrugged. “She didn’t like my scars. Said they were hideous.” He worried his bottom lip, not able to look at his partner. “I-I didn’t know they were hideous. Cath never said anything and…”_

_“And they are not. Listen to me, they are not.” Danny interrupted, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look him in the eye. “Babe, they are a part of you, you have them because you are so brave you’ve always put others before you. That’s what those scars say, how could they hideous when they tell such an amazing story?”_

_“Danno…” His voice was weak, he knew, but it was the first time someone had said that. Cath didn’t mind them, true, but she usually just ignored them, or circled them when they were having sex._

_“_ **_I could spend hours counting your scars._ ** _” Danny said, his fingers brushing the once on the inside of his arm. “They don’t take anything from you, babe. Don’t ever say they are hideous. And if someone else says they are, you don’t let them leave,_ you _show them the door.”_

_A small smile appeared on his lips. “Ok, Danno.”_

_Neither saw Kono hiding behind the back door, listening and texting._

* * *

“I mean, you yourself said this one was sappy and romantic,how have you not realised that’s how Danno feels about you? He’s so in love with you that he would rather have you married and happy and still be your best friend than risk everything just to tell you how he really feels even if it kills him inside every time you go out on a date.” She fumed throwing her arms in the air in a plea for more patience before she ended up killing him. “You agreed to open a restaurant with him and then you said you wanted out and…”

* * *

_He was losing Danny. They had gone from spending almost every waking hour together between work and the restaurant and now Danno was pairing up with the kids even more with the excuse of showing them proper police procedure and he just didn’t know what to do anymore._

_“So take him to do something he enjoys.” Mary had said when he told her. “Let me repeat that for you something_ he _enjoys, not_ you _.”_

_“What is that supposed to mean?”_

_“Oh you know exactly what I mean. You are always doing what you want. When’s the last time_ you _invited Danny to do something he likes and not something you like? Go on, tell me. I’ll wait.”_

_“Well, we went…” To the North Shore, to surf, which wasn’t something Danny liked. “I mean, we visited…” Pearl Harbour Aviation Museum, but he mostly dragged Danny there. “I…”_

_“That’s what I thought. He likes cooking, doesn’t he? Take him to KCC Farmers’ Market. Or to a baseball game. Take him to that retreat you went for your therapy session, except no therapy.”_

_And when had his little sister become so smart?_

_“Thanks Mare! I gotta go, talk to you soon, kiss Jojo for me.”_

_“Yeah, yeah…”_

_“You want us to go back to Maui.” Danny deadpanned, arching an eyebrow and leaning against the counter of the kitchenette in the office._

_“Yeah. Just you and me. No therapy, no dates. Just us. I promise. We can look at what they do this time and you can pick what to do.”_

_Danny hummed. “_ I _can pick? Where’s the catch?”_

_“The ca-?” He shook his head, resting his hands on Dnany’s shoulders. “No catch, Danno.”_

_“Alright. So what’s the point? If you want to look like an idiot again in Maui, babe, you can do that alone.”_

_Steve was close to groaning and banging his head against the cupboard, but instead he moved his hands to cup the back of the blond’s head. “'_ **_The point is for us to be idiots_ ** **together'** _,Danno. I miss you man, I want to spend time with you again, doing something you like, and if we stay here on Oahu some asshole will try to blow the island. Again.”_

_“You really want to spend time with me?”_

_“Of course I want to, Danno.”_

_Tani smiled, staying hidden behind the wall and sending the recording._

* * *

“God, _you_ looked like you wanted to throw up every time Danno and Melissa kissed!” She exclaimed. She was aware he was still lost in his own thoughts, but she couldn’t stop now that she’d started ranting. “And I don’t know if Danno honestly didn’t see it or he just preferred to ignore it or didn’t _want_ to see it, but either way you are both so stupid for hurting the other like that and yourselves in the process and I can't believe the governor has let you two run the task force for nine years straight!”

* * *

_Steve had fallen asleep on Danny’s lap in the plane back from Korea. Joe, his team and SEAL Team 9 hadn’t said anything when he had basically waddled to where Danno was sitting on the floor, strapped to the wall, and then laid down next to him using his leg as a pillow._

_Danno hadn’t said anything and had simply started brushing his now clean hair._

_Danno had bathed him, touching him gently in a way no one had ever touched him before. Or at least not since his mom died. Not even Cath. He had tried to refuse, but one glare of those icy blue eyes and he simply nodded, following him into the bathroom._

_Danno had patched him up, too. Stitched him up, bandaged his broken ribs and iced his sprained ankle. Chin had gotten a new room for himself so they could have some privacy. Steve was grateful for it, not because of the privacy itself, but because he didn’t like looking weak in front of his team. Danno was just an exception._

_“You came for me.” He muttered, opening his eyes and looking up at his partner, who didn’t falter in his movements, still stroking his hair. “Thank you.”_

_“C’mon babe, don’t be a schmuck. **'I**_ ** _ **'d** follow you to the end of the world, you know this._ ** _” He finished, bending over to press a kiss on his forehead. “Sleep, we still have a couple of hours.”_

_“Okay. Thank you, Danno.” He said, closing his eyes and falling asleep again, safe and sound in his best friend’s arms. Not in the least caring that there were Team guys probably watching them._

_And Danny was so focused on Steve that he did not realise Chin was snapping a picture._

* * *

“You two practically live together, for fuck’s sake! If you are not sleeping here, Danno sleeps at yours! You’ve got a toothbrush here! And I know Danno switched the fabric softener at home for the one you like, and you’ve put shelves in the guest room at your’s so he can keep books and stuff there. You are cooking dinner for us, in our house, without Danno being injured! You are more domestic than most married people and you are not even together!”

* * *

_As soon as he saw Danny come down from the plane, beaten up and holding his ribs, he found himself running towards him, wrapping him in a giant hug and not letting go even after the socially acceptable time for a hug had gone by._

_Not that Danny seemed to want to let go, either._

_“Danno…”_

_“Gracie.” He simply croaked._

_“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take you to her.” He whispered before he pressed a kiss on his head, public be damned. “Let’s go.” He wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him into the car, going as far as to fasten the seatbelt for him._

_He was watching him and Gracie hug and he knew the tight embrace Grace had him in had to be hurting his partner, but Danny simply took it, hugged her close and whispered in her ear._

_“Commander.” He turned around to look at Rachel. “Thank you for bringing him home.” She said, casting a glance to her ex-husband and their daughter. “Here. I think it’s best if Grace spends a couple of days with him.”_

_“Yeah, I think so, too.” He said, for good measure, not really trusting her to use it as leverage later on. “We’ll bring her back on Thursday, then.”_

_“Thank you, Commander.” And with that, she just left._

_He did not understand her. At all. She was the exact definition of “now hot, now cold” with him and Danny. Shaking his head he made his way towards the duo, setting an arm on Danny’s shoulder._

_“Let’s go home, Danno.” The blond shook his head, tightening his embrace around his daughter. “The three of us. Rachel says she can stay with us for a couple of days. C’mon, babe.” He said, rubbing his back._

_It took a few seconds, but finally Danny nodded._

_“Ok. Grace, sweetie, I need you to let go of Danno so I can help him, ok?” She nodded, slowly releasing her father, but still clung to him, gripping his hand, hard._

_Much like Danny had helped him in Korea, Steve helped him, washed and treated his still open wounds, bandaged his cracked ribs, helped him into fresh clothes, forced him to take his pills and made dinner for all of them. A light chicken soup and omelette meal._

_Danno had been the first one to go to bed, and Grace had latched onto him when they sat on the sofa, thanking him over and over for bringing Danno back, as he had promised. He simply held her close and kissed her head._

_Once she was also in bed, he made his way to Danno’s room, unable to let him out of his sight now that Gracie was also down. He carefully opened the door, not wanting to wake him up, but then he saw the trembling bundle under the sheets_

_“Oh, Danny…” He breathed out, hurrying next to him, helping him sit up so he could wrap his arms around him again, the tears wetting his shirt, but he could not care, not at all. Not when his partner was in so much pain._

_“It’s all my fault.” Danny hiccuped. “Everyone I love, dies or leaves me. Why are you still here?” He cried harder, even as he was trying to push him away, but Danny could push all he wanted, he was not going anywhere. Not now, not ever. “There’s something wrong me, you should go before I also get you killed… I-I’m too twisted, I’m a bad pers...”_

_“Danno, shut up.” He snapped, tilting the blond’s head backwards so he could look him in the eyes. “Listen to me._ **You have the best heart of anyone I’ve ever met and I couldn’t stand to be without you** _, so don’t you dare tell me I need to to go away. Because I’m not. I’m staying here with you. For you. Like you’ve been there for me so many times.”_

_Danny’s eyes drowned in another wave of fresh tears as he hid his face on Steve’s chest again. “You can’t die on me._

_“Never, babe.” He kissed his head, hugging him closer._

_They didn’t hear Grace’s soft retreating footsteps._

* * *

Danny loved him. Danny _loved_ him. Like _he_ loved him. With everything he had and everything he was. But he had been so busy chasing after Catherine to outrun those thoughts that he never realised how Danny looked at him. And Grace’s rant filtering through, too.

Grace saw the realisation down on him in real time, his eyes still glassy and lost in thought, but glancing at her a few times and she knew her words were settling deep in his bones.

“We are back!” Danny said as he and Charlie crossed the front door and Grace resisted the urge to snicker when Steve looked up, his eyes focusing again: of course he would react when Danno was back. 

She would have been offended if it wasn’t so heartwarming. 

Steve stood up at once as soon as Danny made it to them, grabbing him by the elbow and giving Grace her phone back. 

“Grace, look after your brother.” She didn’t say anything, she simply saluted him.

“Hey, hey! What’s gotten into you, animal?” Danny questioned when Steve dragged him to his bedroom. “Steven!” He shook his arm to be let go, but Steve wouldn’t budge. 

Not until they had talked.

Steve closed the door behind him and taking one big breath he steeled himself: if what Grace had said was true, then he was a bigger idiot than he had thought because looking back, he could see all the love Danny had always looked him with, the soft smiles and the gentle touches.

God, he had been so fucking blind.

“Are you in love with me?” He asked, not realising how harsh his voice was. When he didn’t receive any answer he turned around to face his partner.

His partner. Who looked terrified. Of him.

Oh God.

Oh no.

“W-what?” Danny stammered, taking a step backwards, eyes filled with dread and worry, his whole posture screaming he would rather run away than face him. “Where, uh, where did you get that idea? Of course I don’t ha…” 

Steve walked up to him, cupped his face, effectively interrupting him before he finished denying something he knew was the truth, and stroked his cheeks.

“Because I really am in love with you, Danno, and I want to know if there’s something here that we could pursue together.” He said in a hurry, before the damage was too great.

“What?”

Steve nodded. “I’m in love with you. Have been for a long time.” He confessed, thinking back off all the times he could have said something but didn’t, afraid he would be ruining the best thing he had. That he had ever had.

But Danny still shook his head. Unsure. Unbelieving. And why wouldn’t he? He knew Steve had a date on Friday. “B-but Catherine… And the cute nurse...”

Steve shook his head. “I was just trying to distract myself from the fact that I could never have you. I never thought you’d ever want me like this, Danno. Every single person I’ve been with ever since you came for me in Afghanistan was just to replace you. Just one night stands that didn’t mean much. Gone by morning.” He confessed, his own fears coming through. “I love you more than anything in this world, and I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

“Promise?” It was nothing more than a whisper, and Steve would probably not have heard it had it not been because he saw his lips move.

“Yes, Danno, promise.” 

And immediately after, Danny nuzzled his hands, a sigh escaping his lips. He looked so lovely like this, relaxed and at ease, in a way he rarely got to see without the kids involved.

“I love you, too.” He finally said. “So much that I was ready to be your best man at the wedding. It tore me up, but you looked so happy that I...” He shrugged, his throat tightening at the memory of those painful days.

“Never again, Danno. Next time, we talk, ok? I was almost ready to tell when you were shot in quarantine, but I chickened out. And ever since Korea… when you took care of me in Seoul all I could think of was just kissing you, but you were happy with Gabby and I decided that if I ignored it...”

“It would get easier?” Danny finished as he wrapped his hands around Steve’s wrists. “Did it work for you? Because I’ve been trying to ignore it for the past six years and it has not worked for me.”

“For a while? I’d never lead you to cheating so if you were with someone you were out of my reach, y’know? But overall no, it really has not. If it hadn’t been for Gracie…” He shrugged, not wanting to think that Danny could truly have died without knowing he was the person that Steve loved the most.

The blond chuckled. “She showed you the damn sentences, too? God we sound cheesy on those and we weren’t even together.”

He pulled away slightly to look at him in the eyes, surprised. “You’ve seen them? When?”

“She showed me yesterday. Hey, come here.” He let go of his arms to wrap his around his neck, bringing him down. “We can thank her tomorrow with ice-cream.” He whispered before pressing a soft, loving kiss on Steve’s half-parted lips.

It was the best kiss Steve ever had. Hands down. It wasn't big, or a fight, there hadn’t been loud fireworks in his ears, but simply a rush of energy spreading from his mouth to the rest of his body. It was like kissing a partner you hadn’t seen in months: it was like coming home after a long time.

“I love you. So so much.” Danny whispered when they pulled away, his lips brushing against Steve’s.

“And I love you, too. More than anything, than anyone.” He replied, not putting more distance between them now that they weren’t kissing. This felt almost more intimate.

“We should go check on the kids.” 

“Yeah, we should.”

But neither moved.

“Stay the whole weekend?”

“Obviously. Not going anywhere now."

“Gonna talk with those three assholes?”

“Of course. I’m pretty sure Lou was in on it, too.”

“Probably. Don’t be too harsh on Chin, he tried to stop Kono and Gracie.”

“No promises.” He smiled at him before pressing another kiss on his partner’s lips. “C’mon, let’s go.” He wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him close as they made their way back to the kitchen, where the kids were putting the groceries away.

One glance and Grace knew, a big smirk on her lips. “Are you two done with being idiots? Because I have a bet to win.”

**Author's Note:**

> As I said, this was just something fun I felt like writing after seeing that post, I hope you all liked it!


End file.
